PONDA: A group of scholars have said that the Konkani book ‘Sudhir Sukth’, an anthology of poems written by former MLA Vishnu Surya Wagh, is neither controversial nor obscene.

The scholars also congratulated Herald Group for fearlessly defending Sudhir Sukth.

The scholars who made the declaration include Prof Ramrao Wagh (the younger brother of Vishnu Wagh), Profs N Shivdas, Hanumanth Chopdekar, Prashant Mardokar, Devidas Amonkar, Rohidas Shirodakar and others.

At a meeting held on Sunday at Farmagudi, the scholars have decided to print at least 2000 more copies of the book and make the same available for the public. “We will take book to the public and let them decide its fate,” the say at the meeting. 

Prof Hanumanth Chopdekar alleged that the controversy surrounding the book is a conspiracy to discredit the poetry work and defame its author.

He said that since ‘Sudhir Sukth’ exposes the atrocities committed by elite class on Bahujans of Goa, a conspiracy has been hatched to discredit the book and defame its author.

Prof Chopdekar however clarified that the conspiracy has been hatched not by the entire elite class, but by some.

“Some of the elites could not digest the description of atrocities by Vishnu in his powerful raw Konkani which is the language of soil. Therefore, fearing that these poems will create awareness among the Bahujans, the so called elite are finding excuses of few lines or words in the poems to discredit this book as obscene and derogatory against women,” Prof Chopdekar explained. 

Suggesting that the elite fear that the public acceptance of ‘Sudhir Sukth’ could precipitate their down fall from the high social status that they are currently enjoying, he reasoned, “So, the aim of the elite is to make the public shun this book.” 

“Hence, an FIR has been filed against the bed-ridden poet author and the publisher, so that this book does not get any award. This is a conspiracy. We will face it and also stand behind the author and the publisher,” said Prof N Shivdas. 

He said that currently there is a lot of debate on Facebook and WhatsApp on the book and that this itself is a great award for the author.

Yungank Naik, the son of the publisher, said that the word ‘sex’ in the poem has been taken in the sense of ‘pleasure’ to misguide. “Actually, this word has been used by the poet to present his mental pain due to the atrocities of elite class which is still prevailing. After narrating the atrocities, the author ends the poem with a prayer for equality among human beings. This has been ignored by those raising the controversy,” he said.

Meanwhile, the scholars have congratulated Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar for his decision of cancelling the awards to Sudhir Sukth and other literatures for ‘conflict of interest’. 

A resolution was passed congratulating Parrikar for his decision, but at the same time demanded strict action against the jury member Saneev Verenkar for allegedly violating the rules.